NKTR - Nektar Therapeutics plunges 29% after hours on mid-stage lupus treatment failure

• Nektar Therapeutics ( NASDAQ: NKTR ) has plunged 29% in after-hours trading after reporting that a phase 2 trial for a lupus candidate failed to meet its primary endpoint.
• The asset, rezpegaldesleukin (REZPEG), is a potential first-in-class selective regulatory T-cell inducing IL-2 conjugate.
• The phase 2 ISLAND study examined REZPEG at three different dose levels. Although the mid dose showed an improvement in the SLEDAI-2K score, it did not meet the primary endpoint. The low and high doses showed even less improvement.
• Nektar ( NKTR ) is in a collaboration with Eli Lilly ( LLY ) on REZPEG. The companies have a planned phase 2 study in atopic dermatitis, and another in a not yet announced autoimmune disease indication.
• Seeking Alpha's Quant Rating views Nektar ( NKTR ) as a strong sell.

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